Rhygar once again activated all of his skills, screaming at the running Special Monster. "COME AT ME!"
Behind him, people jumped back and spread out, ready to counterattack after Rhygar took control of the situation. The tactic was very similar to the one he used with the Echo Crystal Tiger.
However, when there were only 200 meters separating them, less than ten strides from the giant wood and crystal woman, something changed.
The Special Monster's body, as if someone had hit the accelerate button on a movie, suddenly crossed the remaining distance in an instant and swung her staff as if she were trying to cross mountains with a golf swing.
Rhygar, unable to dodge, could only tense all of his muscles as he took a low stance.
BOOM!
The second the giant staff and his shield collided, Rhygar felt as if he were a Level 1 person being overrun by a speeding vehicle. His feet were unable to grip the ground, and his figure flew back horizontally to the ground due to the sheer magnitude of the strike.
The crystal woman's lips arched, and then her staff spun around before she slammed it down.
A ripple of unknown energy took over, and a system notification rang in their ears.
[You've been affected by
[Speed -68%.]
[Recovery -68%.]
[Reflexes -68%.]
[Casting Speed -68%.]
[Time perception -22%.]
[Debuff Duration: ∞.]
Everyone's minds, as if they were just waking up from a terrible hangover, became muddled and dizzy. Meanwhile, the Arbiter Echo controlled by Aionthra smirked. "First, healers."
Her body, accelerated, looked like a phantom in the slowed-down domain. She arrived in front of a human female healer, and then she pointed down with her staff. "
A pillar of light violet light descended from the sky, striking that healer squarely.
[-4,251,000,000] (-42,510) (-0.42)
[-4,251,000,000] (-42,510) (-0.42)
[-4,251,000,000] (-42,510) (-0.42)
[-4,251,000,000] (-42,510) (-0.42)
[-4,251,000,000] (-42,510) (-0.42)
Just as they reacted, they heard a System Message.
[Party Member
Aionthra frowned lightly while sitting on her throne. 'So weak? This Special Monster's restrictions are much stronger than I anticipated. I should practice more often with it.'
As she was pondering, attacks landed on the Special Monster's body, draining around 1 Phoer Star's worth of vitality. However, Aionthra was indifferent. She swung her staff lightly, her body appearing where she had stood a few seconds ago, and all the damage was undone.
Then, Aionthra pointed at another healer, and that person's face became incredibly pale. Rhygar, from a distance, shouted anxiously. "Use long-range protective shields!"
Several layers of shields manifested on top of that Healer, and the giant crystal woman smirked. "Oh~, I baited you." She changed her posture from pointing to the healer to rising her staff to the sky. "
Everyone felt their bodies touched by some strange energy, and unable to bear it, their faces turned ugly.
[You've been affected by
[Corrected.]
[Debuff timer increased to: ∞.]
Everyone's eyes lingered on that lazy eight, and then their minds chilled. Rhygar shouted. "Dispell the debuff!"
He had finally arrived at the battlefield one more time, and while Aionthra was exchanging blows with the melee fighters, her posture was truly too relaxed.
The Special Monster's body was not too sturdy, so it was losing
In a way, it was even tankier than the Echo Crystal Tiger. Rhygar's heart was thumping. At their current pace, the healers wouldn't be able to continue to heal them and would run out of Aether Mana and Anima Energy.
'What kind of monster is this!? How is this remotely fair!?'
The 20-meter-tall doll fought agilely, even for her size. She would dodge many attacks with elegant twists and twirls, her staff constantly parrying or attacking others. With their current speed disparity, Aionthra being accelerated while they were slowed down, Aionthra's controlled Special Monster was truly too quick.
The fight had fallen into a stalemate for a few seconds, but soon, the Special Monster jumped back and opened quite a wide distance, pointing at the heavens again. "
Even if they wanted to prevent it, the area of effect was truly too large. A formless energy collapsed like a gravity wall, stunning everyone in their spots.
[-1,988,800,000] (-19,888) (-0.19)
[You've been affected by
[Corrected.]
[Debuff timer increased to: ∞.]
The damage dealt was nothing to scoff at, but what made them despair was the debuff. Dispelling each of these debuffs was like climbing to the sky for the supports, needing quite a lot of Aether Mana and Anima Energy.
Yet, before they had cleansed a third of the party, another debuff struck them.
Aionthra then changed her tactics. Instead of continuing to fight in a melee, which was her weakest point, she began fighting like a true spellcaster.
Her staff began spinning in her hand, her body shifting through space as she appeared in different locations every second. Each time the staff was swung, a
[You've been affected by
[Corrected.]
[Debuff timer increased to: ∞.]
[You've been affected by
[Corrected.]
[Debuff timer increased to: ∞.]
[You've been affected by
[Corrected.]
[Debuff timer increased to: ∞.]
What was worse was that Aionthra's skills were cast incredibly fast. Each passing second, multicolored Aether Mana circles flashed around her, bombarding the group with over 30 skills per second.
Rhygar's eyes were bloodshot, using skills like
The healers were sweating profusely, their spells chanted without stop, while they also tried their best to purify the debuffs. However, Aionthra, as if her Special Monster had infinite Aether Mana, refreshed the wide-area-of-effect debuffs ever so often.
The party's overall health went from being maintained at 90%, to 80%, 70%, 60%... and eventually, everyone's health was barely kept above 30%.
At this moment, the Level 190 Special Monster had become incredibly damaged, having around 20% of the
Rhygar's eyes turned vacant when he heard the monster speak. "Basic… skills?"
Aionthra pointed to the sky, ignoring the attacks coming her way, and then the lips of the doll moved softly. "
Space around the Special Monster seemed to collapse for a moment, everyone's perception changing but returning right after.
Rhygar quickly checked the debuff list.
[You've been affected by
[Corrected.]
[Debuff timer increased to: ∞.]
Rhygar opened her mouth, and then a despairing laugh escaped him. A skill most people would not really consider, in Aionthra's hands, became a divine skill.
50% Damage reduction was not as simple as halving damage. After all, the enemy had defenses.
Imagine the enemy had 100 points of flat defense. Your attacks, dealing 150 each, would damage the other party by 50. However, if your damage was reduced by 50%... your attacks, dealing 75 damage, suddenly would be unable to breach the other party's defenses.
So, the 18% remaining
Rhygar, with bloodshot eyes, roared as he used all his items and skills. He was not the only one; everyone quickly lunged toward the Special Monster with reckless abandon. Its vitality began falling again, but the dropping rate was not enough.
When all of them had around 12~15%
"Well fought. Goodbye.
A massive Aether Mana circle manifested in the sky, and then, as if that circle were a stone thrown into the calm lake of space, it created ripples.
Around that lone circle, seven more appeared, and then, in the outmost ring, 49 more, creating a total of 57 spells.
Looking at the sky, illuminated by flaming, violet meteors, Rhygar's weapon slipped from his hand, a bitter smile hanging at the corner of his lips. "What a ridiculous skill."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The
[Challengers defeated.]
[
The 1,000-meter-tall Willow World Tree saw Aionthra's main body step out of the spatial ripple. The 100-meter-tall woman looked small, but her aura was endlessly more powerful than that of the World Tree.
Aionthra didn't speak much, floating forward and placing her hand on the Willow World Tree's bark. "
The Level 50 World Tree could not resist, and it, together with the entire world, collapsed and disappeared in a worldwide time-misalignment, reduced to just an echo in time.
A second later, Aionthra opened her eyes, and she found herself sitting in her Throne Room.
[Dungeon System: Instance has been Reset.]
Aionthra quickly looked around, a touch of anxiousness in her heart. "Mother? Are you there?"
Roots with glowing blue veins pierced the space around Aionthra, reaching toward the throne and gently coiling around Aionthra's body. "Yes, Baby. I am here. Don't worry."
Aionthra's strung heart, worrying that her reset would erase some precious memories or change her, instantly felt relief. She leaned on the roots, squinting happily.
Then, she heard the very awaited message.
[Dungeon System: Synchronizing
[Dungeon System: Opening shared vision.]
After hearing those words, the usual view of the Golden Sap Empire spread in front of Aionthra, and looking around, she noticed that only a few minutes had passed in reality. This delighted her, and soon, her elegant facial features gained a genuine smile. "Thankfully, I was not separated from Mother for too long!"
Liu Shu laughed, finding her Aionthra extremely adorable. Still, her gaze couldn't help but linger on Rhygar and the rest. 'They were good